The Nazi Brand.

The Nazi Brand.

The early 20th-century German marketing campaign and well-engineered presentation that the Nazi party unleashed on the world is still very current. The Swastika is still a powerful symbol and can strike fear into old generations as well as new. Extreme right-wing parties are on the rise and there is no more poignant symbol than that of the Swastika. This article is not about the politics or the feelings of the German people in the early to the mid-20th century. Nor is it glorifying Nazi ideology. 

“Brown Shirts” with the Swastika Flag.

Big brands that we still know, and love, have tried to distance themselves from the affiliation they had with the Nazis: Brands such as Hugo Boss, Volkswagen/Porsche and IBM are among them. At the beginning of the 20th century the swastika image was widely used in Europe, it had many meanings but was predominantly known for being a sign of good luck. In the aftermath of world war I, it took on a more sinister meaning and was adopted to promote “Aryan identity”

The movement took off at rapid speed in a broken Germany and it was here that the Nazi party gained traction. Pamphlets, signs, and newspaper articles all began to use the striking black, white and red swastika logo. Flags were erected in the streets and well-crafted drip-feeding of hate against Jews and other minorities was spread. Adolf Hitler published a book called Mein Kampf, essentially this was an ideology and well-crafted manifesto that was used to set the tone for the future, firstly in Germany and then the world. The predecessors to the SS were known as “The Brown Shirts” (who were in a nutshell: thugs that would cause fear and violence to anyone who opposed the new socialist movement) The Brown Shirts were disbanded after The Nazis were elected into power and replaced by the SA and the SS. The SS were political soldiers and it was their task to enforce party politics, usually by any means necessary. The logo of two S’s in a jagged font would force panic into anyone who happened to cross their path.Most sinister was the death head badges, and silver daggers that were a part of the uniform. The SS was headed by Heinrich Himmler, who built up the SS from fewer than 300 members to more than 50,000 by the time the Nazis came to power in 1933. 

Himmler (who was a racist enthusiast) screened candidates for their supposed physical perfection and racial purity and recruited members from all ranks of German society. The all-black SS uniform was designed by SS members Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck, The Hugo Boss company was one of the companies that produced these black uniforms for the SS in the thousands. 

It was not only the visual brand that was carefully thought out: The architecture too was a huge part of the shaping of Nazi Germany, much of the “New Germany” would be re-designed by Albert Speer who was a party member and close friend to Adolf Hitler. Speers’s designs of the rally grounds in Nuremberg are a great example of where Nazi Germany was going. Speer also re-designed the layout of Berlin that was never built due to the outcome of World War two later on.

Nuremberg Rally Grounds - Designed by Albert Speer.

The unbuilt Albert Speer Design intended for Berlin. Look at the size of the people to get a real idea of scale.

The Hitler Youth was an integral part of the branding of the Nazis: Upon reaching his 10th birthday, a German boy was registered and inducted into the (“German Young People”), At age 13 the boy became eligible for the Hitler Youth, from which he graduated at age 18. The Hitler Youth was designed to shape the adults of tomorrow and throughout these years the boys were expected to live a life of dedication and Nazi conformity, When the Boys turned 18 they became full members of the Nazi Party and were expected to join the armed forces. 

The Aryan race ideally had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Transport was also a part of the grand plan. Germany would be the first country in the world under the Nazis to build motorways or autobahns. Unlike other Nazi collaborators, Volkswagen did not merely collaborate with the Nazi state but was created by it. The precursor to the company that would eventually become Volkswagen was a project that was carried out directly under the orders of Adolf Hitler.

Hitler decided that the Nazi government should develop a car for the common man, known as a “People’s Car.”  It was from this idea that Volkswagen gained its name, with “Volks-” meaning people, and referring specifically to Germanic people, and “-wagen” meaning car. Entire departments of Hitler’s government were dedicated to driving forward strategies that made sure the designed masterplan was executed to a high standard. 

Films were crafted and released to the world: a comparison can be made in the films from the 21st century of North Korea flexing its muscles with its annual warhead parade. Russia also continues to do this in Moscow’s red square. 

The one thing that was hidden from the world was the death camps. The horrific thing is that these were purposely designed and built to serve an objective: to rid the country and then the world of The Jews, adults and children with learning disabilities (Including mental health), homosexuals and anyone who did not fit the narrative.

Fast forward to the modern-day: Neo Nazis are on the increase, this time the focus is not in Germany but the UK and America, for it was only In December 2020 a Neo Nazi was charged with inciting violence in Newcastle, England. Large organisations like the English Defence League (EDL) and the British National Party (BNP) attempt to follow the same principles that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party did back in the 1920s and 1930s Germany. 

American prisons are full up (almost to bursting point) with Neo Nazis and white supremacists, Most recently highlighted in the Trump years, this brand is still going strong, although it has become a variant of its original origins it is probably one of the longest-running and most recognisable campaigns that have ever been crafted. Will, we ever see a campaign as successful and everlasting again? and If we do let us hope that it is for the good of mankind and not the destruction of it.

Oliver Green 2020. 

Republished 2022.